


Teen Wolf, Season 3, Episode 8, Visionary

by TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Analysis, Episode Review, Episode: s03e08 Visionary, Meta, Nonfiction, Season/Series 03, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:06:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23319571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer/pseuds/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer
Summary: Warning: Contains spoilers for the episode and the rest of the series. Complete.





	Teen Wolf, Season 3, Episode 8, Visionary

Open to alleged young Derek running through the woods. Mobile emitters give him trouble.

He comes across another young werewolf, and the werewolf recognises him as a Hale. Before A-Derek can speak, the other werewolf is shot through the throat with an arrow. The shooter tries to shoot Derek, but a young A-Peter catches the arrow, and showing a hint of yellow werewolf eyes, he leads his nephew to safety.

I believe the flashbacks involving Gerard and Deucalion are accurate, but I don’t buy Peter’s story. Even if he’s not intentionally lying, I don’t believe his version of things is accurate.

On a different note, this might be a petty thing on my part, but I can’t get over the fact Ian Nelson has brown eyes and Hoechlin has green. I didn’t care that Daniel Radcliffe’s eyes were blue when book Harry’s were green, but I did care that a brown-eyed actress played child Lily and a blue-eyed one played adult Lily. The only way I’m not going to get annoyed when two actors portraying the same character have different eye colours is when there’s an indication the character is wearing coloured contacts.

However, it’s not the eye thing that makes me suspect this isn’t Derek. The eye thing is just a personal annoyance.

I read a fascinating theory it was Peter, not Derek, who fell in love with Paige and suffered the trauma.

It’s canon Talia took memories from both Peter and Derek, and some part of me wonders if Peter didn’t also mess with Derek’s during the first season.

The eye thing would still be an issue, but putting this aside, A-Derek often reads more like a young Peter would. I know trauma can drastically change a person, but to me, A-Derek has almost nothing in with present Derek. I remember I even read an interview where Nelson said something about not trying to tailor his performance around Hoechlin’s, because, the Derek he was playing was a different character than the one Hoechlin was.

Moving on, Chris, Gerard, and other hunters appear. Chris confirms the dead werewolf killed two hunters. He orders the other werewolves found, and invoking the code, he stresses they’re to be brought back alive. Gerard doesn’t argue, but it’s clear he had as much use for the code back then as he does in the present.

Meanwhile, Peter and A-Derek hide in an abandoned place, and Peter keeps protective contact with A-Derek.

I will say, for someone who, last time I checked, has no other acting credits, Michael Fjordbak does wonderfully on TW. I completely buy him as a young Peter.

There’s a transition to Cora and Stiles at the loft. She explains Peter and Derek hid for two days. This is what the Hales were taught to do when dealing with hunters: Hide and heal.

Stiles asks if this means Derek will only be gone for two days or if Derek’s on an extended getaway.

Cora asks why he cares.

“Let’s see, because, over the last few weeks, my best friend’s tried to kill himself, his boss nearly got ritually sacrificed, a girl that I’ve known since I was three _was_ ritually sacrificed, Boyd was killed by alphas.”

“You think Derek can do anything about that?”

“Well, since he’s the one everyone seems to be after, it’s more like he should do something.”

Cora says her brother is different from how she remembers him, and Stiles asks what Derek used to be like.

However, even though her answering might be a good way to flesh out her character, Derek’s, and explore their relationship, Cora never gets to answer this question during the episode.

Peter comes down the stairs. “A lot like Scott, actually.” Declaring Derek had his heart broken, he says he’s going to tell them the story of how Derek’s eyes changed colours.

A-Derek shows little-to-no similarities to Scott. They both had brown/black hair, they’re both werewolves, and they’re both athletes. I guess the fact they both (allegedly, in Derek’s case) like awesome brown-haired, brown-eyed girls is something they also have in common, but this is all largely superficial.

Meanwhile, Scott and Allison visit Gerard. He wants Scott to take away some of his pain. Scott agrees on the condition Gerard tell them everything he knows.

After the credits, a girl with a beauty mark under one of her eyes is practising some musical instrument. She’s played by Madison McLaughlin.

Hearing bouncing outside, she goes to see A-Derek and his friends basketball practising in the hallway. He’s a jerk, and she resigns herself to not getting to practise.

Following her, he apologises. She refuses to tell him her name. He persists, and she says, if he can play just one instrument in the room, she’ll tell him.

In response, finding a triangle, he dings it once.

There’s more to playing the triangle than just this. If this constituted playing, he could just blow once into a flute, hit a drum one time, or even take her instrument and run the stick across the strings one time.

However, she says her name is Paige. Her surname isn’t given.

He tries to introduce himself, but she says she knows. When she asks him to leave, he complies.

Back at Gerard’s, he suggests Deaton is the dark druid and intentionally set things up so Scott would save him.

Um, as I much as I don’t like typing this: For once, everyone consider what Gerard’s saying. He’s not completely right, but Deaton is more manipulative than most people besides Stiles realise.

Scott refuses to consider it. Bleeding and spitting out black blood, Gerard talks about how his cancer is gone, and the doctors have no idea what to make of his new condition.

“I did what you wanted me to do,” Scott answers.

If not for what was done to Derek, I’d find this answer awesome.

He demands Gerard tell them how to beat Deucalion.

Gerard informs them Deucalion isn’t always blind.

At the loft, Stiles tries to figure out Derek and Peter’s ages. He’s appreciative of Cora’s simple answer of her age as, “Seventeen.” His appreciation, however, doesn’t last long as she adds, “Well, seventeen in how you’d measure years.”

It’d be cool if she were just trolling him here, but if this is the case, Kane’s acting misses the mark.

“Alright, I’m just gonna drop it.” He tells Peter to continue with the story.

Back in the past, A-Derek and Paige kiss in an abandoned distillery factory.

Stiles asks how Peter knows all this. Peter claims he was more than an uncle. He was Derek’s best friend and confidante.

Cue Peter being shown spying on Derek and A-Paige.

Breaking away, Paige wonders when A-Derek will stop liking her. She points out his attraction to her was initially based on her not liking him. He implies he never will. Then, his werewolf senses kick in, and he realises something bad happened in the factory. They leave.

Still in the past, Kali, Ennis, Deucalion and their packs meet up. Ennis is angry and heartbroken over his killed beta, Kali couldn’t care less about anyone not in her own pack, and one of Deucalion’s betas, Marcos, is antagonising, and Deucalion himself is diplomatic, empathetic, and mostly ignored. It’s revealed the dead beta did kill a hunter, though, Ennis insists it was an accident.

In the present, Gerard says they’d all come to talk to a shape-shifting alpha who lived in Beacon Hills.

Back in the past, a red-eyed wolf appears. Talia resumes human form, and standing in front of all the others, Deucalion looks at her with reverence. “Talia Hale,” Gerard announces as one of the female werewolves, potentially Laura, covers her.

Hidden, Peter watches Talia and the others talk. Talia and Deucalion are mostly on the same page. They agree what was done to the beta was horrible but acknowledge there’s also a bigger picture involved.

Ennis doesn’t care, and despite Deucalion’s impassioned speech against going down the path of vengeance, Ennis makes a spiral on the wall.

Present Peter makes the same symbol on the loft’s rainy window. He explains it’s their symbol for revenge, and Cora explains losing a pack member is akin to losing a limb.

Showing sympathy for Ennis, Peter says they wouldn’t even let him see the beta’s body.

In the past, at the hospital, Ennis is physically intimidating the staff. Deputy Stilinski and some other show up, and he was awesome even back then. He’s wary and on-guard, but he’s calm in how he handles things and manages to somewhat de-escalate the situation with just his words. Then, being respectful of Ennis’s pain, he says Ennis can’t see the beta due to them not being related.

I don’t blame Deputy S for this, but I’m completely on Ennis’s side when he announces, “He was family to me.”

I understand how important blood can be. I can understand how to some, the signing of papers, whether for adoption or marriage, is extremely important. However, honestly, I’m not a fan of basing policies on who shares blood or is joined together by a legal document.

Here, Ennis loved this person. He considered him akin to a little brother or even a son, and because there’s no blood binding them or any sort of paper, he’s being denied the potential closure he could desperately use.

At the loft, Peter claims Derek saw all this as an opportunity to be with Paige forever.

In school, A-Derek listens to Paige practising, and then, goes to the music room. There’s more back-and-forth, and they end up kissing some more.

Back in the loft, Peter says Derek was obsessed with the idea of Paige discovering his secret.

In another flashback, during lunch, Derek is sitting with his friends as he watches Paige studying. There’s either a continuity error, a bizarre bit of editing, or a sign of mirrorverse/unreliable narration, as suddenly, all of Derek’s friends and the evidence of their presence is gone when Peter sits down at Derek’s table.

Fjordback strongly reminds me of Cillian Murphy in this scene. In fact, it’d been so long since I paid close attentions to the scenes containing Junior, I was actually wondering if TW had somehow managed to get Murphy.

“I’m looking out for my favourite nephew.”

Does Derek have any brothers? Does Peter have any siblings with children besides Talia? Derek might be Peter’s only nephew.

Stealing a Resse’s from A-Derek, Peter makes his less-than-flattering opinion of Derek’s friends known, refuses to take Derek’s threat of getting him banned from school grounds seriously, and gives his opinion of Paige being perfect for Derek. He has a line about perfect combinations in an imperfect world.

Back to the conversation, A-Derek doesn’t show any of the obsessiveness Peter claimed until Peter hammers it in Paige will eventually find out and that A-Derek should change her so it won’t be an issue.

In the loft, Peter claims he kept telling Derek not to do it. He reveals himself as either deluded or an exceptional liar as, with literal tears in his eyes, he mournfully and regretfully expresses his fear Derek blames him.

“I have the perfect idea,” younger Peter happily says to A-Derek. Heh.

Upping his creeper quotient even more, despite him not being affiliated with the school, this conversation is taking place in the boy’s locker room.

Peter says Talia would never, “Do it.” He really pushes the idea the bite would be the best thing ever for Paige.

Meanwhile, Chris and Gerard are examining a druid place.

In the present, Allison asks how her father knows so much about druids. Gerard says it’s all part of knowing one’s enemy. He tells them packs have a druid-like person called an emissary. He says Deaton was this for Talia.

I’m not sure I believe this. I do believe Deaton was accurate in the flashbacks, but it’s never said within them he’s a/the Hale emissary. There are other reasons he could be talking to Talia and Deucalion.

Getting out of his wheelchair, Gerard lays some Greek and Druid mythology on them.

One of the meta writes, athenadark, I think, has laid out a solid case for the original war being between hunters and druids. The druids created werewolves to refocus the hunters, and eventually, the hunters mostly forgot about the druids.

If this is true, it’s interesting Jennifer is so worked up about being overlooked when that was potentially the goal her ancestors were working towards.

At the loft, Stiles learns Morrell is the emissary to the alpha pack.

“Why the hell don’t you people tell me any of this stuff? Huh? I shared some really intimate details with her!”

In the same way she asked Lydia if Lydia knew any spirits, Cora inquires of Stiles, “And did she give you good advice?”

Both times, the question was sincere and devoid of mocking. It seems as if she really didn’t have any preconceived ideas about how they would answer.

Again, if Kane had been given more of a chance, she might have been able to make Cora interesting, but unfortunately, instead of using Isaac, someone decided a new female character was needed to fulfil one thing that was planned for Erica. Instead of actually developing her beyond the very basics and making sure she could and would stay, they discarded her and later brought in Malia.

I’ve said before I’ll have a lot to say when Malia does appear, but for now: It would have made more sense for a sister/potentially secret cousin of Derek’s to have escaped the fire and been running around as a literal wolf/coyote/coywolf than have Peter’s supposedly secretly adopted out daughter be running around as a coyote/coywolf after the death of her adoptive mother and sister.

Not sure how to handle this, Stiles admits she did as he mentally grasps for how to explain this really isn’t the point.

In the past, at the clinic, both Talia and Deaton are supportive of Deucalion’s desire to extend an olive branch to Gerard, but they try to brace him for the possibility of it not working. They warn him to be careful how he goes about it. Talia flat-out calls Gerard a psychopath.

Meanwhile, during night at the school, Paige is wandering around looking for A-Derek. Ennis appears, and she runs.

As this is happening, Derek is sitting in the locker room bouncing his basketball.

In the loft, Peter claims Ennis needed a new member of his pack and doing a favour for Derek would get him in good with Talia.

Right. If, as he himself said, Talia wouldn’t have bitten a non-consenting Paige and might have refused to bite a willing Paige, why would she be happy someone else had? Depending on her feelings towards non-consensual biting on the part of other alphas, would she even care? If she did care, this seems as if it would be a good way to get on her bad side.

Interestingly, much like Scott does, Peter is being fairly careful to tell a story involving people who can’t easily verify what he said. Derek is missing, Cora was too young to be involved, Laura and Ennis are dead, Talia and Paige are allegedly dead, Deucalion is insane, Kali killed Boyd, and Stiles has never made it a secret he doesn’t trust Deaton. Even if Stiles did go to his dad, his dad is only going to have an extremely limited human view of what might have been going on with Ennis.

Someone made the argument Derek couldn’t have reached out to Ennis to do this due to not knowing where Ennis was, but unless I’ve missed something, it’s being implied Peter reached out on Derek’s behalf, and Peter could have found Ennis with all the spying on Talia and the others he’s being doing.

I don’t believe teenage Derek ever set up his girlfriend to be bitten without her consent, but assuming this is really Derek, I do believe the possibility for him to do so was there.

Stiles wonders if Derek remembers it was Ennis. Peter answers, if Derek does, he keeps it to himself.

Convenient.

Back in the past, hearing Paige crying, A-Derek stays put. Then, however, upon hearing growling, he runs.

In the present, Stiles asks if Ennis changed her, and Peter answers, “Almost.”

Back in the past, he watches her crawling away from Ennis. Derek appears. Ennis roughs Derek up a bit before leaving, and it’s revealed he already bit Paige.

Meanwhile, Gerard claims Deucalion and his pack ambushed Gerard.

I said before it was ambiguous if what Gerard told Allison and Scott matched the flashbacks, and I was wrong. This clearly shows one instance of him outright lying.

In the loft, Peter explains Paige should have turned, but sometimes, the bite doesn’t take.

Back in the past, Peter finds A-Derek and Paige under the nemeton. A-Derek’s holding her in his arms. Holding one of her hands with his, he absorbs as much of the pain as he can.

In the present, Peter talks about how hard she struggled to stay alive.

Elsewhere, Gerard blinds Deucalion.

I hate Gerard so very, very much.

Back with the teens, Paige tells A-Derek she knows he’s not exactly human. She doesn’t mind. Realising she’s going to die, the pain’s so unbearable that she begs him to end it. It’s not graphic, but complying, he kills her.

In the loft, Peter says he took the body and placed it where he knew it would be found. Her death was written off as an animal attack. Explaining that taking an innocent life takes a bit of the soul, he shows his own blue werewolf eyes.

I’m not sure if there’s any canon evidence for this or not, but my theory is: How the death is dealt influences it. If a bitten werewolf killed as a human, their eyes will still be yellow when they change. If a werewolf shoots or stabs with a weapon someone, their normally eyes stay the same, though, they might end up with an alpha spark if the person they killed was an alpha. If they use claws or fangs, however, to kill something higher than an animal, yellow eyes would change, but blue or red would likely stay the same.

In this case, Derek was absorbing so much of her pain/life that it could have changed his eyes.

Back in the past, Deaton, Talia, and Marco, are there. Deaton explains, physically, the eyes will heal but that Deucalion will always be blind. Deucalion insists everyone leave, and though reluctant, Deaton and Talia respect this.

Marco, however, tries to kill Deucalion. Vaguely seeing him, Deucalion kills him. It started as self-defence, but the rage took over, and it became murder.

In the present, Scott clarifies, “He sees as a wolf?”

“He’s not always blind,” Gerard repeats.

Allison hopes they can use this against Deucalion. Gerard tries to imply to Scott that he’s regretful of how cold and ruthless he became, but with good reason, Scott isn’t buying it. He informs Gerard he was listening to his heartbeat. It never rose or slowed down. This could point to him telling the truth, but it could also point to him being a good liar.

Good, Scott. Thank you for bringing this up.

Scott grabs Gerard’s hand. “If you lied, and it gets people hurt, I’ll be back, to take away more than your pain.”

Posey did an excellent job with this scene. For the first time, Scott was genuinely terrifying.

At the loft, Peter is gone. Annoyed at Stiles’s reluctance to voice his thoughts, Cora expresses a desire to punch him.

“Oh, my God, you are so Derek’s sister,” he comments. Heh.

He explains he doesn’t believe Peter, but it’s not clear if he thinks Peter is actively lying or not. He simply declares his belief Peter is an unreliable narrator.

Cora asks if he plans to ask Derek about the girl Derek fell in love with and killed.

“If I have to- yeah,” he answers.

Of course, Cora herself shows no real emotions towards learning any of this about her brother. It’s not clear whether she believes it, and whether she does or doesn’t, she apparently doesn’t care enough to find out more.

Just because it was Scott, Gerard, and Allison, that doesn’t mean there had to be three people involved in the loft. It doesn’t mean there had to be a female character to go with the two males. Stiles and Peter could have had this conversation alone, or Isaac could have been involved.

Back in the past, Talia finds A-Derek, and it’s not clear what she does and doesn’t know about what happened. All she says upon being told he did something terrible was, “I know.”

Keeping his eyes closed, he says they’re different.

“Different. But still beautiful. Just like the rest of you,” she answers.

He opens them to reveal blue werewolf eyes.

In the present, Derek expressionlessly looks at the symbol of revenge Ennis made.

Honestly, I have no idea what to make of Visionary. Gerard is a liar, but I believe what happened with him and Deucalion was all accurate. Peter is either a liar or deluded, and I have no idea what might have happened with a girl named Paige. I believe there was a girl named Paige at one point, but if anything shown about her was accurate, I don’t know. I don’t believe Derek was involved with her or that he set her up to be bitten, but I can’t definitively declare it didn’t happen.

I’ll try to puzzle out Kate and the allegedly de-aged Derek when I get to those episodes.

Fin.


End file.
